Khajuraho, the temple city of central India, is
famous throughout the world for its exquisitely carved temples in
stones. Thousands of visitors and tourists from all over the world
flock together to envisage this immortal saga of Hindu art and culture
engraved in stone by shilpies (stone craftsmen) a millenia ago.
Today, apart from the temples, Khajuraho is a small village but
a thousand years ago it was a large city of the Chandelas, medieval
Rajput kings who ruled over Central India. Khajuraho is 595 km (370
miles) south-east of Delhi and can be visited by air, rail or road.
An overnight train journey from Delhi takes the visitor to Jhansi,
from where another morning train takes him to Harpalpur 85 km (53
miles) to the east.
»Khajuraho Temples
The temples at
Khajuraho are divided into three broad groups
»The
Western Group
The
Kandariya Mahadev is the best example of the Central Indian style
of temple architecture. It is the largest of the Khajuraho temples
and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Located close to it is the Matangeshwara
temple, the only one in the entire complex where the deity (Shiva)
is still worshipped everyday with prayers and rituals. The Lakshman
temple is finest of the western group of temples and has four shrines
attached to it. The Devi Jagdamba temple is known for its erotic
sculptures and houses Khajuraho's most talked-about image, the mithuna
(the sensuously carved figures of amorous couples). The temples
of Vishvanath and Nandi depict the marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati.
The Chaunsath Yogini is the oldest of the surviving temples at Khajuraho
and is dedicated to goddess Kali.
» The
Eastern Group
This
is also known as the Jain group. The Jain temples of Parasnath,
Adinath, Shantinagh, and Ghantai have fine examples of elaborate
carvings and are bereft of the erotic sculptures seen in the Hindu
temples. These temples are dedicated to Jain deities, each temple
having a finely sculpted image of the presiding deity. The three
Hindu temples here are those of Vamana, Javari and Brahma. The temples
of Brahma and Hanuman are two of the oldest temples of Khajuraho
and are made of granite and sandstone.
»The
Southern Group
The
Southern Group of temples include only two: Duladeo: Though it is
a beautiful erotic image of Khajuraho that this one represents,
it is still a very new temple which seems to have been built after
the creativity of Khajuraho was on its way to a new era and well
down its peak. It has more wooden sculpture that takes away its
authenticity somewhat.
Chaturbhuja: Pretty far from the village, this unremarkable temple
has a three meter high statue of Vishnu.
»How
to reach Khajuraho
By
Air : Indian Airlines (Domestic Airline in India) runs daily flights
from Delhi to Agra. Kheria Airport (Airport of Agra) is about 6
km from the Agra city centre and is easily accessible by taxis and
auto-rickshaws at nominal rates.
By Rail : Agra is well connected
by excellent train services to Delhi such as The Shatabdi Express
(2 hrs), Taj Express (2.5 hrs), Intercity Express (3 hrs).
By Road : Express bus services (a/c
and non-a/c) are available from Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Gwalior,
and Jhansi. For those driving to Agra,
